Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a mobile terminal, and more particularly to a method of controlling a mobile terminal, for diagnosing a home appliance using the mobile terminal.
Discussion of the Related Art
In general, products such as washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, and ovens are closely connected to user convenience. It is very important in modern life to normally use such home appliances. This is because a user may experience some inconvenience when the user cannot use home appliances in case of necessity.
When a home appliance malfunctions, it is impossible to normally use the home appliance. Here, it is not important whether the malfunction of the home appliance is caused by product problems or user error. In general, users are aware of the use of the home appliance only and are not aware of a method of overcoming problems when the home appliance malfunctions.
In many cases, when a home appliance malfunctions, a user contacts a service center and explains the malfunction. Then, the service center determines whether the home appliance needs not to be repaired due to user error or the home appliance needs to be repaired, based on the explained issue.
It is too cumbersome to contact the service center whenever the home appliance malfunctions. In addition, it is not easy to identify the malfunction of the home appliance and to determine appropriate measures to resolve the issue, based on the user's explanation.
For example, even if the service center determines that the malfunction is caused simply by component error and sends a repair technician to a place where the home appliance is installed in order to replace the component, the repair technician can determine that basic repair needs to be performed on the home appliance after arriving at the place. In this case, it can take a long time to repair the home appliance, which means that a period of time when the user cannot use the home appliance is increased.
In addition, even if the service center determines that the malfunction is caused by product problems and sends the repair technician to the place, the repair technician can determine that the malfunction is caused simply by user error, but not by the product problems. In many cases, the malfunction is determined to be caused simply by the user error, for example, a power plug is not put into a socket or a faucet for water supply is turned off in the case of a washing machine. As in the above case, a period of time when the user cannot use the home appliance is also increased. In addition, needless time and effort can be wasted.
Accordingly, there is a need to correctly determine the cause of malfunction of a home appliance and to take appropriate measures based on the determined cause.
That is, there is a need to minimize the number of user reports on malfunction of home appliances to a service center and to minimize the number of unnecessary customer services at the service center.